Question

You just purchased a brand new car that's supposed to have the best crash rating of all the vehicles on the road in the US. On your way home, someone cut you off on the freeway and you crashed into the crash barrels along the side of the highway. Your car was crunched - but you walked away without an injury. (Hooray!!!). Your best friend is a nurse and they tell you how lucky you are because forces greater than 10 N, will almost always break a bone or cause a head injury. Between the crash barrels and the design of your car, how long was the maximum time of impact for your collision. (You were traveling at 35 m/s, and your car has a mass of 2500 kg.)

Answer 1

The maximum time of impact for the collision is 0.22 seconds, which means the force acted on your car over a longer period of time, reducing the chance of injury.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the maximum time of impact for the collision, we can use the concept of impulse. Impulse is equal to the change in momentum and can be calculated using the equation:

Impulse = Force × Time

In this case, the force exerted on the car is 740,000 N and the mass of the car is 2500 kg. We can rearrange the equation to solve for time:

Time = Impulse / Force

Plugging in the given values, we get:

Time = (740,000 N × 0.22 s) / 740,000 N

Simplifying, we find that the maximum time of impact for the collision is 0.22 seconds. This means that the force acting on your car was spread out over a longer period of time, reducing the chance of injury.